For lovers of art, and for those who pretend to be in order to impress the girls, the District has plenty of art galleries to offer. Georgetown’s campus hosts its own set of collections, and the Georgetown area is sprinkled with many more. Home to a plethora of cultures that express themselves in various mediums, it’s no wonder that D.C. contains so many. The tour begins at home:
ON CAMPUS, The Carroll Parlor in Healy Hall permanently displays the Georgetown Art Collection, featuring old Flemish and Italian paintings, along with European and American sculpture as well as Italian furniture. Located outside the President’s office at the top of the red-carpeted stairs, this gallery is open Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., though to get in you may have to get someone’s attention. Several blocks away on the ground floor of the Walsh Building, Gallery 101 showcases some contemporary professional work. The gallery currently hosts “Present Histories,” a watercolor exhibit by Ann Martin, whose upbringing in Nebraska has left her with a love of nature that she expresses in her paintings. Across the hall, the Department of Art, Music and Theatre displays some contemporary student art in Gallery 102.
Comfortably within the GEORGETOWN NEIGHBORHOOD on the corner of 34th and Prospect, you’ll find the Govinda Gallery, home of the world’s largest collection of photography featuring musical artists. Jay Burch, who left home at the age of 17 and joined the Washington Color School, currently displays his collection of oil paintings inspired by children’s book illustrations and influenced by the symbolism of eastern philosophies.
Just south of M St. on 31st you’ll find the Anne C. Fisher Gallery, a personal favorite. Martha Oatway’s textbook-inspired monoprints, which include handprints, and Carl Lennartson’s series of small paintings based on James Joyce’s Finnegan’s Wake more than make up for the gallery’s uninviting hours. The same building houses the Parish Gallery where Sylvia Snowden’s tactile exhibit “Jessie’s Shields” opens on Friday.
Back up Wisconsin Avenue, the Addison/Ripley Fine Art at the corner of Wisconsin and Reservoir reliably hangs interesting art. It’s current exhibit called “Glue and Gumption” by Dan Treado is no exception. Though currently between exhibits with no information on those forthcoming, the District Fine Arts gallery, only one block further up Wisconsin is a bright space usually filled with vibrant sculpture and paintings.
A short GUTS bus ride to DUPONT CIRCLE plants you in the vicinity of anywhere between five and eight galleries. The Spectrum Gallery boasts the most reliable visual stimulation in the area, and for the politically minded, the Provisions Library currently displays an extensive collection of both foreign and domestic cartoon critiques of America.
With most exhibits rotating on a monthly or bi-monthly basis, these galleries easily transform the casual passer-by into a loyal regular. The employees begin to recognize you, you exchange kind words, meet an artist or two and when you finally bring a date, you’ll impress her with your savoir-faire.
Carroll Parlor; Healy Hall; Mon.-Fri. 9 a.m.-5 p.m.,
Gallery 101; Walsh Building; Mon.-Sat. noon-5 p.m.
Gallery 102; Department of Art, Music and Theatre
Govinda Gallery; 1227 34th St. NW; Tue.-Sat. 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
Anne C. Fisher Gallery; 1054 31st St. NW; Tue noon-3 p.m., Fri. & Sat. noon-6 p.m.
Parish Gallery; 1054 31st St. NW; Tue-Sat noon-6 p.m.
Addison/Ripley Fine Art; 1670 Wisconsin Ave. NW; Tue-Sat 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
District Fine Arts; 1726 Wisconsin Ave. NW; Thurs.-Sat. 11 a.m.-6:30 p.m., Wed. 11 a.m.-8 p.m.
Spectrum Gallery; 1421 22nd St. NW; Tues.-Sat. noon-6 p.m., Sun. noon-5 p.m.
Provisions Library; 1611 Connecticut Ave. NW, 2nd Floor; Tues.-Fri. noon-7 p.m. Sat. noon-5 p.m.
